THE POWER OF THE TONGUE
By Rev. Festus Asopuruchukwu Ekenyere
Copyright © 2007 FESTUS A. EKENYERE THE POWER OF THE TONGUE All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other without the written prior permission of the publisher. National Library of Nigeria Cataloguing in Publication Data EKENYERE, Festus Asopuruchukwu, 1959 The Power of the Tongue 1. I.
Chris ristia tian lif life e – Bibli blicva cval t te each aching ing Title BV 54501.2 .E36 2007 ISBN-978-33875-0-2 AACR2
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE DEDICATION…………………….iii AKNWOLEDGMENT…………….iv INTRODUCTION………………...…4 SECTION ONE THE NEGATIVE PERSPECTIVE 1 Lying an and Ne Negative Co Confession …… ……11 2 Backbiting an and Go Gossip……………...21
248.4
3 False Witnessing and Accusation ….30 4 Jesting and Boasting ……………….38 SECTION TWO THE POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE 5 Confessing Jesus and life …………..46 6 Speaking the truth in love …….……51 7 Making Decrees ……..……………..58 8 Witnessing for Jesus ………..……...66 CONCLUSION ………………………….70 LIST OF OTHER BOOKS BY REV. FESTUS ASO. EKENYERE. ……71
DEDICATION
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO HAVE LEARNT TO BRIDLE THEIR TONGUES.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT I want to first and foremost appreciate the Lord God Almighty for His immeasurable grace upon my life. This is a burden that only HIM could lift; an insight HIM alone can give. Therefore to HIM be glory and honour forever and ever. The fatherly counsel of Professor Frank C. Carew of the Department of Education, University of Maiduguri, added the needed impetus, which made this work a reality. I so much cherish the professional touch you put to my works especially this one. The good Lord will take you to higher grounds. Amen. I appreciate the support of every member of our Church – FAITH RECONCILIATION CHAPEL INT’L, Maiduguri. Your presence in the ministry has kept me always on my feet. I feel elated pastoring you. Thanks for your prayers. Now to my nucleus family, which I owe a great deal of gratitude for their understanding. I have to sit on the computers for virtually all the hours of each day paying little or no attention to the home. The work became so tedious as I worked on six other books at the same time. I appreciate the patience of my wife, Pastor Mrs. Glad, my son K. C. and my daughter Peace. You are special to me. God will reward your patience. I so much appreciate all my friends and admirers for their numerous contributions in cash and in words of encouragement. Your association has tremendously strengthened me. We will reign together with CHRIST!
INTRODUCTION As I struck a match one day to burn some of my unwanted sheets of paper, I watched the whole lot being engulfed in the inferno. I wondered if the flame I saw was the contents of a single match struck across the box. I admired the scene because my unwanted sheets were gone in just a few minutes. I loved my box of matches! Another day, I went to visit a friend in the hospital but was told that he had been discharged. As I was about to go, I met with a sister who narrated her ordeal to me. It was a case of fire incident. She told me of how a stick of matches struck in the house already filled with spilled cooking gas burnt off the house of her brother. According to her, nothing was recovered from the house, the house-help and the pregnant wife of the brother died as a result of the burnt. My breath nearly ceased as I learnt that a stick of matches struck in the house caused the evil. I quickly remembered my box of matches and found myself in between two opinions – to hate or to love my box of matches. Powerful! Powerful!! I exclaimed. Fire from the striking of a stick of matches! It has the ability to destroy and to organize. This in essence is the metaphor the Apostle James used in his definition of the human tongue. He says, “ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. – James 3:6-10 How powerful is the tongue though a very small member in our body? With it we can destroy and with it we can organize. These are the two main perspectives from which we will view the power of the tongue in this book. Like the fire produced by the striking of a stick of matches organizes or disorganizes, so is the product of the human tongue. The tongue is so powerful that King Solomon says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” – Proverbs 18:21. Literally, the King speaks nothing but the truth (inspired by the Holy Spirit). I heard a true-life story, which I would love to share with you now.
The story is about a drunkard who got married to a talkative woman. Any day he got drunk, he was bound to beat his wife. On the other hand, his wife would never stop at insulting and nagging him. So, the more insults the more beating and vice versa. One day, the wife resorted to ask help from a juju man. After narrating her ordeal to the man, he charged her a large sum of money and gave her a small black stone with this instruction – “Next time your husband gets drunk and you know that his next action is to panel-beat you, quickly put this stone in your mouth and do not speak a word no matter how aggressive he seems to be.” A few days after, the husband came home drunk and the wife of course knowing the usual thing quickly put her saviour in her mouth thereby unconsciously taming her tongue. It came to pass, while the man was beating her, he suddenly noticed that his talkative wife was not talking again but weeping and gnashing her teeth. The man stopped and was amazed at the sudden change. The next day he bought two pieces of cloth for his wife, congratulating her for the change with a promise never to beat her again. The wife was very happy. Her talisman worked! She quickly went to the juju man to share her testimony. But to her greatest amazement, he told her that there was nothing in the stone he gave her. “It is just an ordinary stone, which I used to tame your tongue. Now if you will only control your tongue, you will live happily with your husband.” What a lesson! The woman in our story would have been beaten to death if she chose or live if she chose to. It all depends on the power of the tongue. The tongue demonstrates its power in all aspects of life and is in complete control of the whole body. The Apostle James says, “ For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” – James 3:2. To a larger extent, a man’s journey to the kingdom of God depends on how he assumes control over his tongue. The tongue has the power to lead a man to the kingdom of God or to the kingdom of Satan. However, one cannot assume perfect control of the tongue humanly. No body under the sun can tame the tongue. Again the Apostle James puts it this way – “But the tongue can no man tame; it is a unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” – James 3:8 Self-control is the fruit of the Holy Spirit- “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” – Galatians 5:21,22. It is what the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a Christian. It is a spiritual harvest appropriate to the new divine life within the man who consciously surrenders to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Self-control is a Christian virtue produced by the Holy Spirit, not by mere moral discipline of trying to please God or what is known today as “principles of living”. It is therefore clear that no one has the ultimate power to control himself except by a supernatural force. To be controlled by the devil is death and separation from God while to be controlled by the Holy Spirit is life. The only available means of coming closer to God is by His Son Christ Jesus. If you have not done that and wish to, turn to the last page of this book for guidance. If you fail to, you will b subject to the dictates of the devil. In this book, the TONGUE is seen from two perspectives: the negative and the positive. The first section dwells on the Negative Perspective while the second dwells on the Positive Perspective. These two perspectives demonstrate the power of the tongue. Every thing the tongue produces (death or live) is seen clearly from biblical standpoint. The pages of this book can as well be described as a mirror, which shows you exactly the colour of your tongue. Approach it with an open mind, making amends and consolidations where necessary.
SECTION ONE THE NEGATIVE PERSPECTIVE
CHAPTER ONE LYING AND NEGATIVE CONFESSION Let us start with the story of the shepherd and the villagers. It is said that at the outskirts of a village was a well-known shepherd who took care of a large herd of flock belonging to some of the villagers. One day, the shepherd shouted, “Help! Help!! Somebody help!!! Wolf on my flock!” almost all the able-bodied men in the village ran out with their clubs and guns only to discover that there was no wolf at all. They went back disappointed. The following day, the shepherd repeated it and the villagers ran out and were again disappointed. On the third day, wolves from the jungle attacked the flocks. The shepherd cried for help but nobody responded. The villagers assumed he was out to fool them again so they stayed behind and the wolves devoured his flock. When he came back in the evening, the villagers discovered that quite a number of their flock were missing so they asked him to give account of them. He narrated to them how the wolves devoured the flock but they did not believe his report because of his past insincerity. The poor shepherd was summoned by the King’s court where he was found guilty and subsequently jailed because he could not pay for the missing animals. Lying is defined as an act of making untrue statement. By this definition, the shepherd in the above story told lies on two consecutive times, which made him not to be trustworthy. Consequently, he lost his job, reputation and ended up in jail.
Any untrue statement is a lie. There is no small, big, coloured or diplomatic lie that does not attract the same consequences as the shepherd’s. From the housewife who keeps part of the feeding money and covers it up with high cost of foodstuffs to the minister who exaggerates on the pulpit; all untrue statements, no matter how diplomatically and righteously presented fall into the family of lies. It is constructive to consider the source of this universal vice that has eaten deeper into the soul of mankind than cancer. Jesus says, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” – John 8:44. This text points out clearly the falsehood contained in the theory of universal fatherhood of God. God is not the father of all human beings. Parenthood is a matter of relationship. The Bible says, “ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” – Romans 6:16 Lying is an attribute of Satan. It is his nature evident in whosoever obeys him. Lying originated from him and whoever indulges in it is born of him. The devil introduced falsehood right from the dispensation of innocence when he said, “ Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4,5. This is the origin of untrue statements and it was directed at God with the aim of polluting God’s creation. The devil distorted God’s divine instruction and diverted man’s attention from his spiritual likeness to God to a mere formal physical existence of being like God. Unfortunately, man yielded to the voice of Satan instead of upholding the dictates of God. The result being loss of the glory of God, expulsion from the Garden of Eden and separation from God. From that moment, evil entered the world and man became the servant of his own predicament. That is why no one teaches a child how to tell lies. He develops into it. This evil nature spreads from Adam to all humanity and is manifested through the TONGUE. Lying is a grievous sin before the Lord. The Scripture says, “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD:” – Proverbs 12:22. It is abhorrent and God therefore hates it. “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, ---“ Proverbs 6:16,17. Since this universal vice is of the devil and all who indulge in it are born of him, they all have one eternal destination. The devil is of course destined to hell-fire, so are his children – all who fulfill his desires. Revelation 20:10-15 says, “ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead, which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead, which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Outlining the attributes of the inhabitants of hell-fire, the Bible says, “ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:8. The tongue has the power to pull the whole body to hell-fire. Furthermore, the Bible teaches that those who love the lying tongue will end up in the same place – “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and
idolaters, and WHOSOEVER LOVETH AND MAKETH A LIE.” – Revelation 22:15 (Emphasis added). As we approach the end of the age, this evil increases. Respected people of God fall prey to the negative display of the power of the tongue. The Holy Spirit warning the church through the Apostle Paul speaks expressly, “--- that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils: speaking lies in hypocrisy: having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” – I Timothy 4:1,2. This Scripture is fulfilling today as people of God, trusting in themselves no longer hold unto the truth, but as a result of pressures of this life resort to falsehood under the canopy of Christianity. This ought not to be but remember, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 7:21. It is unfortunate to note that some Christians have turned the grace of God into an instrument of falsehood. They are using “by the grace of God” to tell lies without hurting their consciences. This is an abomination! If you know you cannot do a thing why not say so plainly than hiding under the canopy of “by the grace of God”. In the book of Ephesians, chapter four, the Apostle Paul urged Christians not to live as people without the knowledge of God, who walk according to the vanity of their minds because their understanding has been darkened through the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Even though Christians were like that in times past, the Apostle strongly cautioned against the danger of displaying a character fashioned in likeness to the old man. Since Christians did not come to know Christ that way rather hey heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus, they are “to put off” their old self, which is corrupted by its deceitful desires; and “to put on” the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. A major character of the old man to be put off is lying. The Bible therefore says, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour for we are members one of another.” – Ephesians 4:25. NEGATIVE CONFESSIONS In Proverbs 18:21 we read these words, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” This means that the tongue has the power of life and death and to an extent your success or failure in this world depends largely on how you use it. What you say is what you get. Negative confession is the clearest mark of faithlessness. A child of God who sees his problems through God understands that “all things are possible to them who believe.” The way you see your circumstances determines your confession. You confess negatively the very moment you see God through your problems. Get this clear – there are two major ways of viewing problems: when you see problems through God, they seem as nothing because of the greatness of God. But when you see God through your problems, they become insurmountable. This is reflected in the lives of the twelve spies who went to explore the Promised Land. Numbers 13 gives us the account of how they went for exploration and their report. They saw the Promised Land, appreciated it and even came back with some of its fruits in confirmation of the goodness and fruitfulness of the land. “--- A land flowing with milk and honey.” Out of the twelve, only two, namely, Caleb and Joshua gave a report prompted by faith in God. The remaining ten gave negative report. In as much as the land was flowing with milk and honey, there were adversaries. So, the two conflicting reports came as a result of two different angles from which they saw their adversaries. Caleb and Joshua saw their adversaries through God while the other ten saw God through their adversaries. That was what made the eternal difference. The land was indeed occupied by giants and the cities walled yet God asked them to go and possess it. Caleb and Joshua saw the greatness of God hence they silenced the evil reporters and advised the immediate possession of the land as
being within their competence. The occupants of the land and their walled cities posed no problems for the men of faith. On the other hand, ten of the spies who saw the goodness and fruitfulness of the land also saw the difficulties involved as being greater than their God. Their faithlessness could be seen by their confession. Their report instilled fear, doubt and discouragement into the people. Look at their report and confession – “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and WE WERE IN OUR OWN SIGHT AS GRASSHOPPERS, AND SO WE WERE IN THEIR SIGHT.” – Numbers 13:33 (Emphasis mine). How true is this of God’s people today. Fear and lack of faith, expressed by negative confessions have often been the cause of stagnation and lack of advance towards victory. Most Christians are destroying their destinies on daily basis by the words of their mouth. They find it difficult to see something good in their lives, families, jobs, and businesses and in fact, their churches. The worst of it all is that, this group of Christians speaks negativity into their own future. They say things like this, “Let me go and try, and may be …” You see, this kind of people does not go by revelation and conviction. They hardly move by faith!
CHAPTER TWO BACKBITING AND GOSSIP They have been living in harmony for the past twenty years or more. Most of their things were commonly used by any of them. They found it difficulty parting with one another so; they vowed to be married by men of the same village. This was the extent to which two sisters loved each other. (As though not serious) initially, their parents could not understand why their two daughters decided thus. But their seriousness was proved when the senior agreed to get married to a man if only he will get another man from his village that will marry her junior sister. The man tried everything he could but to no avail so, he convinced his nephew and talked him into marrying the junior sister to his fiancée. The wedding was unique. The desire of the two inseparable sisters was met. They were not only married in the same village, but in the same family. I could imagine how happy they were. It was just a transfer of family name. Their culture was not tampered with. They cherished one another more and more as they continued their lives together still with most of their belongings commonly used. Unknown to these two sisters was the fact that some people in the village envied them and sought a way of separating them. There was no other way to do that except through the power of the tongue. Seeing that the junior sister freely entered her senior sister’s room, a lady invited the senior sister for a dinner and “a private special talk”. Due to the caption of this invitation, she did not go with her sister. As they had dinner together, the lady spoke out “I do not know how to narrate this unfortunate incident to you seeing how special you regard your sister. If only you will promise me not to react negatively and to continue loving her, I would be glad to tell you why I invited you for this special dinner.”
Having heard this, she became more anxious to hear what the lady had to say. So, she vowed not to react negatively. Then the lady continued, “I have been closely monitoring your movements and how sincere both of you love each other until recently I discovered that your junior sister is a hypocrite. On several occasions I have noticed strange movements between her and your husband. You see, I am not saying that they are in love and that I have seen then laying together on your matrimonial bed. What I am saying is that you must be careful else you will loose your dear husband for your dear sister. Please do not react at this, only be careful”. She was dumbfounded and left without a word, meditating over all she had heard. The following day, unknown to he, the same lady invited the junior sister for a special lunch and released the same dynamite on her. Like her senior sister, she left without saying a word. The result was a quiet withdrawal to self by both sisters. No one dared to ask the other why because both harboured the same resentment. The verbal dynamite exploded after a very long time. One day, the junior went to fetch water from the stream with her sister’s clay pot. Unfortunately for her, the pot slipped off her hand and broke. Understanding the marred relationship with her senior sister, she wept as she enquired where to buy another pot to replace the broken one for her. There again stood that same lady. She comforted her and encouraged her to go quickly to the neighbouring village and buy another pot. As soon as she left for the village, the lady went to her senior sister and said, “My dear, what kind of wicked sister do you have? She has broken your beautiful water pot every body in this village admires. The worst of it all is that she has gone to the neighbouring village, thinking she will see a typical pot to buy instead of coming to inform you first. Please, I hope you will forgive her. It is not good if you quarrel with your junior sister because of an ordinary pot”. To her it was time to explode. She waited impatiently for her sister to return from her journey. Unfortunately, the sister came back without any pot. As though heaven was let loose, she poured out her wrath on her junior sister. Both of them rained all manner of insults on each other and their husbands were unable to settle the matter for they accused them of infidelity. Both men were surprised and decided to find out the source of this mischief. They latter discovered that a lady in the neighbourhood was the root of this evil. But there was little or nothing they could do. The harm had already been done. A careful study of the Word of God shows that God is the Judge of the intents of man’s heart. He judges man’s motives. The church today has laid much emphasis on sins like fornication and the likes. Little or nothing is taught on the use of the tongue. The devil has therefore shifted his target and so many Christians are caught in his net of gossip and backbiting. Let us find out what exactly is the meaning of these two words under review. The Thorndike Junior Illustrated dictionary defines backbiting as an act of speaking evil of (an absent person). Gossip is defined as an idle talk, not always true, about other people and their affairs. Some people have argued that by the above definition, backbiting has no indication of lying. Well, that depends on the contents of the evil spoken of (an absent person). I do not know how possible it is to speak evil of an absent person without any form of falsehood. So I feel that there is an element of lying in both backbiting and gossip. When you speak evil against an absent person, your motive is to destroy the image and reputation of that person. It is often as a result of prejudice. Sometimes the fellow you are destroying is innocent. Even if he is not, are you his Judge? Why must you destroy with your mouth? This is evil! The most common with Christians is gossip. With biased mind, you cannot represent an absent fellow favourably. In an attempt to narrate what somebody did, you add words or cover up the good side with the motive to present the negative side of the absent person or his affairs. This is an evil I have seen among
Christians. In all, the motive is evil – TO DESTROY! In our story above, the primary aim of that lady was to destroy the relationship between the sisters (and she did). You may not have gone to that extent but the little seed of discord you sowed in the heart of somebody yesterday might grow to something worse than the story above. No matter your position in the church, as long as you backbite and gossip or have pleasure in those that do same, you are on the same platform with haters of God. The apostle Paul stated this clearly in the book of Romans 1: 28-32 thus – “ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” As God judges those who deliberately indulge in this vile, I think He will also judger those who nod their approving heads and gain satisfaction from what they hear. The Lord taught me a lesson one day that touched my soul. He opened my eyes to the harmful consequence of an idle or careless talk. A friend returned from Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city for an anointed meeting, and went to see his graphic artist who was working on his signboards. There a minister friend whom he met while in the capital city walked in, they greeted and he went to the other block of offices. Carelessly, without having any evil motive in mind, my friend told his artist how he met with his minister friend in Abuja and how they parted. As soon as the minister came back from the other block of offices, the artist pulled him aside and told him all my friend said and probably added his own words. As innocent as my friend thought he was, he agreed to give his minister friend a ride to his house. On the way, his friend said, “Man of God, please do no discuss anything about me with these guys again. The artist told me all you said about me”. My fried felt bad and apologized not only to him but also to God. “I had no intention to destroy you before the artist and God knew the intent of my heart”. He said. My friend got home and prayed to the Lord earnestly for forgiveness and God restored him. What a lesson to learn from idle talk. You may not have an evil intention like in the above case but the other party who relates the story might have. Such talks can destroy a longstanding relationship. Their relationship would have been marred had my friend not apologized. In the book of Leviticus 19:16, the Bible says, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people,” Meditate over this text for some minutes and ask yourself – “have I been going up and down as a talebearer?” If so, remember Psalm 15:1,3, which say, “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that beckbiteth not with his tongue.” Therefore the Psalmist says, “Keep thy tongue from evil (backbiting), and thy lips from speaking guile (gossip)” – Psalm 34:13 (Emphasis added). Backbiting and gossip are evil; anyone who indulges in them is a “man of Belial.” Belial means “without profit”. Proverbs 6:12-15 describe the person thus – “ A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a orward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.”
CHAPTER THREE FALSE WITNESSING AND ACCUSATION A witness and his testimony contribute immensely to the establishment of any case. When such witnessing is based on falsehood, it jeopardizes justice and the life and future of some one. This is why God hates false witnessing and commands His children not to take part in it. Any addition or subtraction from the fact of the matter brands it false. Most times it is as a result of prejudice. This evil is also found among Christians today. Unconsciously, some Christians under the pretence of “let us pray for brother or sister so, so and so” testify falsely against their supposed beneficiary even before the Almighty God. Friend, “God is not mocked!” He knows when you are praying for somebody out of love and when you are not. The ninth commandment says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” – Exodus 20:16. This is a clear commandment from God and He desires that we keep it. He expatiates more on it when He says, “Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.” – Exodus 23:1. This means any atom f exaggeration in your report brands you wicked and unrighteous. Apart from being biased, another element that motivates false report is when you want undue favour. In an attempt to be favoured, you castigate somebody. This is evil! Wait upon the Lord; He will lift you up at the appointed time. The Bible says of servants, “Not with eyeservice, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” - Ephesians 6:6. Eye service! I call it – eye, body and lips service. I have seen this evil manifesting greatly among the people of God also. Something you cannot naturally do and say but because of fear or favour, you do and say it, is this not evil? Like every other vice, false witnessing attracts a severe punishment from above. The Lord says, “ If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Take note of verses 19-21 and do not say it does not apply in this dispensation. The Bible says, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” – Galatians 6:7. The principle of sowing and reaping is still in operation today. Whatsoever you wish for others will definitely happen to you. It might not be immediate as in the sharia law. Remember that vengeance belongs to God. He will recompense! If our world will understand this fact, the monster called “false witnessing” will be eradicated completely. One man in the history of mankind had been once accused falsely and suffered for the sins of many. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God was once a victim of this monster whose major exit is the mouth. Let us examine carefully the
accusation against Jesus and learn some important lessons from the witnesses’ testimonies against Him. In the book of John, Jesus was asked to show off a miraculous sign to prove His authority and divinity. He replied, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” – John 2:19. The Jews who were already biased concluded that He was referring to the literal temple in Jerusalem. However, John says, “But he spake of the temple of his body.” V21. At the time of His arrest and before the Sanhedrin, the Bible says, “ And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But neither so did their witness agree together.” – Mark 14:55-59. Some people have argued that this accusation was not false, “after all” they say, “Jesus said so”. But the Bible says it is false, so, it is false. Instead of arguing, let us examine it carefully to see the falsehood. In the first instance, these people were already prejudiced. And the Bible says, “they sought for witness to put him to death.” Many people bare false witness against Him but for lack of harmony, their witnesses were rejected then, another two emerged to fulfill Deuteronomy 19:15. Secondly, I had earlier said that any addition, subtraction or exaggeration of any kind to the fact of any matter brands it false. This is clearly seen in the witness of these two. Jesus did not say He would destroy the temple; rather He said, “Destroy this temple”. Simple and short! He did not say anything about the “temple that is made with hands” not to talk about building “another made without hands”. These statements are additions to the fact and according to my own understanding they falsify the whole testimony and reveal the wickedness and unrighteousness of the testifiers. How true is this devilish diplomacy eating deeper than cancer in the body of Christ today? It is easier for somebody to pick up a word or statement from you and misrepresent you entirely. Sometimes the person quoting you does that innocently but the recipient who might have been biased about your activities blows it out of proportion. This is evil! In deciding the case of Stephen, his persecutors misquoted him. Probably Stephen was quoting Jesus from John 2:19 which we considered above but was victimized for it. Finally he was stoned to death. Look again at the witness against him – “ Then they suborned men, who said, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.” If you read verses 9 and 10, you will conclude with me that the people of Stephen’s day were prejudiced and as a result, sought to destroy him. The only way they could achieve their desire was to suborn men to accuse him falsely. Is our generation better? The tongue was not designed for evil, as we will discover from section two of this book. Remember, God will judge every idle and unconfessed careless word we speak. King Solomon says, “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” – Proverbs 6:16,19. It is clearly established that God hates false witnessing and accusation. Therefore He will judge them. “ A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free.” – Proverbs 19:5 (N.I.V.) In Luke 3:14 the Bible says, “And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, what shall we do? And he said unto them, do violence to no man, NEITHER
ACCUSE ANY FALSELY, and be content with your wages.” (Emphasis added). You can see that among the sins the people were to repent from was false accusation. Today our world is no difference; we need therefore to purge it from this vice as well. I have been a victim of this monster times without number so I know how it hurts. My only consolation in such moments is the fact that God is the righteous Judge. People including some ministers of God have falsely accused me of one thing or the other, which I was sincerely innocent of. Nobody is exonerated! Preachers do fall prey to this monster also! Friend, if you have not been accused falsely before, you have not known the other side of anguish. The solution is not in selfdefense. Jesus did not defend Himself when He was falsely accused so why should I? Allow God to defend you! We need to purge our society of this evil. Why must people, even Christians disseminate reports they cannot substantiate? Why not keep quiet and shut up your mouth if you know you cannot prove the reality of what you are about to say. Remember the tongue is more destructive than chemical and biological weapons; it can destroy without remedy. KEEP IT IN CHECK!
CHAPTER FOUR JESTING AND BOASTING “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, FOOLISH TALK OR COARSE JOKING, WHICH ARE OUT OF PLACE, but rather thanksgiving.” – Ephesians 5:3,4 (N.I.V. Emphasis mine). It is important we take this text from the N.I.V. for easier and proper understanding. I have met with some Christians who have gone to the other extreme in their condemnation of jesting or joking. To them, a Christian is not supposed to joke at all. That is a very bad extreme. No human being can live in this world successfully without jokes. You must consciously or unconsciously share in jokes. By definition, joke is something said or done to make somebody laugh a remark that is clever or funny. If you had ever laughed in your life then, you have probably taken part in a joke. You cannot just laugh without reasons except you are insane and you are not. I believe if tare people who must laugh, they are the Christians. This is because one who is sad does not laugh and a Christian cannot be sad all day long. I am happy so I laugh when occasion warrants. Now I would like us to understand exactly what the Bible says concerning jesting or joking. The Bible talks about “--- coarse joking which are out of place foolish talk”. This is taken from Greek word, “Morologia,” which means “silly talk”. This word does not condemn good humour but when in association with filthiness or coarseness of speech like slanderous nicknames, it becomes a sin. This is where the negative aspect of the power of the tongue must be checked. In His sermon on the mount, our Lord Jesus laid emphasis on the cause of an action more than the action itself. The “cause” must be looked into first passing judgment on the action. He says, “ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old
time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” – Matthew 5:21,22. There is a story of two friends playing a draft game. It became so exciting to one as he won on each round. Unknown to him was the fact that his loving friend was bitter inwardly. As the game progressed, and common with the game, the winner always express his victory by jesting so, he said to his losing friend, “play game my friend, you cocoanut head who does not know anything.” His “cocoanut-head” friend seldom stood up, reached out for a sharp stone and broke his friend’s head and said, “I want to drink the water from your cocoanut head.” The word “Raca” means empty-head. “Thou food” means worthless person. Such words are silly talks. They are not convenient for Christians. They should not proceed from the mouth of a child of God more especially in the name of joking. They stir confusion and resentment. Jesus says, “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” – Matthew 12:36. Apart from destroying the soul through coarseness of speech, another way the tongue exercises its negative power over the soul is in unnecessary selfappraisal. As a man “thinketh in his heart so he is.” – Proverbs 23:7. Pride, self-exaltation and egotism have their conception first in the human heart before manifestation. Their major source of expression is the mouth powerfully equipped with the tongue. Our Lord Jesus says, “Those things which proceed out of the mouth came forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” – Matthew 15:18. Sometimes even the elect fall into this sin unconsciously because of unguarded heart. I have seen very good and respected Christians (from human perspective) talk carelessly of how big and socially important they are. There is nothing bad in being socially relevant but do not allow what you think you are in the society to make you heavenly irrelevant. There is nothing you have or are today somebody had not been or had before. “A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.” – John 3:27. Friend, think about what caused a king to be eaten by worms. Egotism of course! Only God knows the contents of the oration King Herod made unto his audience that attracted such a sudden judgment. The Bible says, “ And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.” – Acts 12:21-23. Good! “Because he gave not God the glory”. This is nothing but self-glorification. When we consciously or unconsciously put ourselves in the position of reverence as God, we are trading on the pathway of failure and destruction. “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to grave images.” – Isaiah 42:8. Think about one of the ills of the antichrist. I mean the expression of his nature. The apostle Paul describes him as one “who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” – II Thessalonians 2:4. Revelation 13:5,6 say, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” The antichrist can easily be recognized by his boastful nature. Today men boast of their power and might forgetting that tomorrow is in the hands of God. The apostle James says, “God to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue thee a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little
time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that. But now ye REJOICE IN YOUR BOASTING: ALL SUCH REJOICING IS EVIL.” – James 4:13-16. King Solomon says, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knoweth not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own lips.” – Proverbs 27:1,2. We are however encouraged to glory only in the strength and might of the Lord. The Scripture says, “ Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” – Jeremiah 9:23,24. Examine yourself and move into the second section – POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE – with confidence.
SECTION TWO POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE
CHAPTER FIVE CONFESSING JESUS AND LIFE
If I had stopped at the negative perspective of the power of the tongue then it means God deposited a member in our body for the destruction of our soul. No! That is not God’s aim for creating the human tongue. In this section of four chapters, we will see the positive aspect and the purpose for which the tongue was created. Satan in his nature tends to change the good purpose of God’s creation for evil. This he succeeded doing in the Garden of Eden and from then, the Bible says, “--- there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” - Romans 3:10-14. You can see the state of the fallen man. But did God leave man at the mercy of the devil? No! In His lovingkindness, God mapped out a plan of total restoration and executed His plan on the cross of Calvary leaving man to decide his destiny. The tongue comes to play a very important role in man’s redemption. The Bible says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9,10. Confessing Christ Jesus in this context simply means an open admission of an inward change. This change includes the purification of the “open sepulcher” throat, tongue and lips, which were used in times past for deceit, cursing and bitterness. It also means a conscious submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in order to be exactly who God created you to be. Then the Scripture which says “Therefore if a man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – II Corinthians 5:17, will be fulfilled in your life. Salvation does not only involve inward belief, it also involves outward confession of total freedom based on the finished work of Calvary. This confession defeats Satan, sin, the world and its lusts and of course eternal death. It is only then we can join the apostle Paul to say, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” – Romans 8:37. Salvation also can be seen as a translation from death to life. Jesus says, “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” – John 5:24. If this is the case (which I believe is) then, God expects the words of our mouth to be words of life. I heard of the death of a university don recently. My source revealed that the late Phd. Holder woke up on the fateful day with some strange feelings in his body. Then he asked a colleague of his to take him to the hospital. He was quoted to be saying continually – “I am dying, I am dying.” And of course he died before getting medical attention. You see, he confessed death and got it. Latter his people announced that he died after a brief illness. That was all right, but some of us knew that he died after confessing death. The Bible teaches that, “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, there is a lifting up.” – Job 22:28,29. You possess what you confess. Remember, “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the increase of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” – Proverbs 18:20,21. So many Christians condemn themselves and cause their failure with their tongue and turn back to blame God unnecessarily. Especially at this state of economic stress, Christians must learn how to join affinity with God so that the difference between the unbelievers and us can be made clear. What shows that you are a child of the Most High when you lament with the people of the world over the
affairs of this life? Do you understand what I mean? Our source of supply is above not abroad, therefore always look up to God and confess your victory. By confessing positively you are releasing your faith to walk in the reality of heaven on earth. Friend, I have been thus sustained so, I know by experience that God can sustain you. (Get my book titled – THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT- and you will be richly blessed). This is calling “those things which be not as though they were.” – Romans 4:17.
CHAPTER SIX SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE In one of my books titled “STANDING FIRM IN LOVE”, I made a concise analysis of Christian love. Having understood clearly the true meaning of Christian love, I discovered that it is a powerful motivator of other virtues. It is also the golden cord that binds all Christian graces together. This generation is fast wasting away. Everyone is gone his own way as sheep without shepherd; doing things the way it pleases him without any sense of judgment. The world does not know the value of love so it does not appreciate dealings in love. The love for money is gradually taking the place of the love for God and His righteousness. Unfortunately the church that supposes to show good and godly examples has, for quest of wealth gone the way of the world in the name of prosperity. Instead of prosperity following the Christians, the reverse has become the case. Christian values have even disappeared from our homes. As a result of this strong desire, the love of many are waxing cold daily. Truth and faithfulness for which the Christian faith was known has almost disappeared among brethren especially when it comes to financial dealings. It has even come to the stage where it is preferable to deal with an unbeliever than to have any financial dealings with a Christian “believer”. This level of impropriety does not exonerate “preachers of the gospel”. It is even worst with some so-called Pastors and it gets me disgusted. The apostle Paul encouraged every one of us to speak the truth in love so that we may grow up into Him in all things which is the Head, even Christ – see Ephesians 4:15. In other words, one of the major ways your love for God and your neighbour can be expressed is in your truthful dealings and
speech. When the Pharisees wanted to know from Jesus which of the law is the greatest, Jesus answered and said, “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” – Matthew 22:37-40. By implication, this means as we cannot tell lies or deceive ourselves in any way, so ought our relationship with God and our neighbours to be. How can you lie to the person you love? Why do you hate and murder your fellow man created in the image of God? We must love for “God is love.” – I John 3:15; 4:16. Let us face the reality and you will discover the benefits of the positive aspect of the power of the tongue in demonstration of love. The apostle Paul had this in mind as the Holy Spirit moved him to write – “ Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” – Romans 13:8-10 Worthy of note is the fact that if you love someone you will not bear false witness against him. You will not do him any ill whatsoever including lying. You then will, always speak the truth in love. Sometimes the truth may be bitter but if it is spoken in love or as a result of love, it must achieve the desired result. I had an experience some years ago when a Pastor came to work with us in the ministry. He left his former ministry unceremoniously and did not know that his former senior pastor harboured resentment against him. After a short while, I asked him whether his former Overseer and his congregation prayed for him on his departure. He said, “not at all”. Then I knew something was wrong somewhere. I boldly told him that the truth is, he must go back to his former church and strengthen his relationship with them. Note that by this time we have developed love for one another so going became a problem. One day, I decided to visit his former Pastor to enquire about the circumstances, which led to his resignation. I discovered that there was nothing so serious but for the fact that his resignation was not approved by the authority. In other words, they did not want him to leave yet he left. The Overseer told me clearly that he wanted that Pastor back to the church. Friend, if you were in my position, what would you do? I needed the services of this young Pastor and his former Overseer needed his services as well. The young Pastor waned to work with us. That was the position. Well, the following day, I asked him to go back and prayerfully convince his senior Pastor to see reasons with him on why he should leave. Not until he succeeds, I asked him to remain there and work faithfully. My decision received a lot of criticisms from within and outside our ministry. Some respected ministers condemn my decision. They did not see any reason why I should send him back to his former church. It generated a lot of heat but I knew very will within my soul that I had spoken the truth in love. I thank God the young Pastor listened to me and went back to that church though it was painful. After a while he left amicably and today he is a happy and fulfilled servant of God. In my life and ministry I have come across many situations where I spoke the truth and paid dearly for it. At last it paid off. Sometimes ninety percent of ministers around will oppose me yet within me I know I am saying the truth even though they call me names. I have never forgotten the fact that I alone will give account of every word that comes out of my mouth. One important point I would like us to understand from the New Testament context of who your neighbour is, is what I call “universal neighbourhood”. By this I mean joyfully embracing anyone who comes across your path in life irrespective of colour, ethnic or religious affiliation. Our fellow human being is
our neighbour and we must love him as ourselves. But unfortunately, many have limited this to those of the same colour, ethnic or religious beliefs. Sometimes even those of the same religious beliefs still limit it to those of the same denomination or sect. Sometimes I do not blame them because some of them have been victims of fraud stars. It is unfortunate that somebody you showed love and kindness can turn and victimize you. This is ungodly and evil I see under the sun. The tongue is a powerful instrument, which has the potential to unite the whole world and bring lasting peace if man can only hear and obey the voice of God. Imagine how this world will look like if every one of us speaks the truth in love. No cheating, no deceit, no corruption. Everybody trusts his neighbour. What a beautiful world! But unfortunately the reverse is the case. Even in our homes today, husbands do not trust their wives and wives no longer trust their husbands. Children tell lies before their parents will meet their needs. What a perverse generation. My joy is that the Bible teaches of a millennial reign of Christ when peace and righteousness will permeate. Do you think mankind will ever have such world? Yes! Oh yes! Very soon the church will be taken away from this corrupt generation. The universe as it is will vanish and a new earth and heaven ensued. The millennial reign of Christ or the Kingdom of the Son of God will come. The apostle Peter says, “Nevertheless we, according to his promises, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” – II Peter 3:13. This is not going to happen in another planet but in this earth. Christ will be LORD of all and peace, joy and righteousness will permeate the whole universe. The only guarantee of being part of this Kingdom is the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour now. (For more details on the millennial reign of Christ and other end-time events, read these books – a) Understanding the Book of Revelation, b) Rapture and the Great Tribulation and c) Signs of His Imminent Return – all by the same author). CHAPTER SEVEN MAKING DECREES A man of God woke up one morning to hear that rainmakers were hired to the village by a bereaved family to stop the rain from disturbing their guests during the funeral of their father. He got angry, “why should they invite rainmakers to this village while I am here”, he said. “For this reason, there must be rain fall throughout the burial ceremony”, he decreed. Some people around him thought he was joking. Others thought he was just boasting. But I knew that he was making decrees. Later in the day, it started drizzling and continued throughout the night. A lot of people were disturbed, the rainmakers were confused, the bereaved family disappointed and God was glorified in the words of His servant. God confirms the words of the faithful! Something similar happened so many years ago during the reign of King Ahab in the land of Israel. A man of God made a decree and it was established. The Bible says, “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, BUT ACCORDING TO MY WORD.” – I Kings 17:1 (Emphasis added). Making decrees is not peculiar only to men of God like Pastors, Evangelists, etc. This is why the apostle James says, “Elias (Elijah) was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months”. – James 5:17. What the apostle is saying is that the Prophet Elijah was like you and me – as many as have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. So you can make decrees as well. May be you do not understand what is meant by decrees. By this is meant something ordered or settled by authority. Then you may ask – which authority or by whose authority did men of old make decrees? Or by whose authority do I make
decrees? Every established or establishing decree must be made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul says, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9-11. Note that the Bible says the name of Jesus is exalted above ALL names whether in heaven, on earth or beneath the earth. The name of Jesus is the believer’s authority. Any decree made in this name must be established. The next question people ask is, how are decrees made? This is where the positive aspect of the power of the tongue comes in. Again, the principle of “what you say is what you possess” rules. A Christian who knows his authority speaks authoritatively to affect situations. Kings and Presidents make decrees or proclamations based on their authority. No one dares to alter any decree made by the King. When God wanted to fulfill His word to the captive Israelites in the days of Ezra, He used the King of Persia, a man in authority to make decrees. The Bible records – “Now in the first year of Cyrus King of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia, THAT HE MADE PROCLAMATION throughout all his kingdom, and put it in writing, SAYING ---“ – Ezra 1:1 (emphasis added). If you read the next few verses you will discover that the decree was to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The decree was immediately adhered to by his subjects and work on the temple started. After the death of Cyrus, King Darius of Persia began to reign. The enemies of the Jews continued to frustrate their effort in the building of the temple. At a point they questioned the authority behind the rebuilding of the temple. Then the Jews told them that a decree was made by King Cyrus in his days and they requested that King Darius should investigate the matter – Ezra 5:1-17. “ Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; ---“ – Ezra 6:1-3. If King Darius were in the shoes of his predecessor, he would not like his decree to be altered. So, when he discovered that Cyrus once made such decree, he said to the enemies of the Jews thus – “Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.” - vv 6, 7. He went further to consolidate Cyrus decree and finally said, “ Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God, which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.” – vv 11, 12. You can see the authenticity of decrees made by men of authority. Not even the enemies of the Jews could alter it. You are a man or woman of authority as long as you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into your life. Not even the devil can alter your decrees. Therefore stop destroying your destiny with your tongue. Speak words of faith to affect any situation that comes your way. It is written, “Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. --- Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” – Job 22:21, 28. A very important point to note in decree making is your ability to back it up with actions. The apostle James says, “Even so faith, if it hath not works is
dead, being alone.” – James 2:17. Even so decree, if it hath not actions is dead, being alone. Imagine decreeing that you are a success in business and waking up every day by mid-day and going to you office by 2:00p.m. Do not forget that the Bible warns, “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hand to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” – Proverbs 6:10, 11. Sometimes your decree calls for your obedience. So many people fail in their part and end up blaming God. It takes obedience to check disobedience. You must mean what you proclaim and proclaim what you meant. If it calls for action, do not hesitate, knowing fully well that your decrees cannot be altered. When King Darius was persuaded by Daniel’s enemies to make a decree prohibiting anybody from asking a petition of any God or man for thirty days save the King, little did he know that it will call for his own obedience. No sooner than he realized it was a plot to exterminate his friend Daniel he started regretting. His regret could be seen in his reactions to himself, to Daniel, to Daniel’s enemies and finally to Daniel’s God. See Daniel 6:1-28. Apparently Darius desired saving the life of Daniel but behold, a decree has been promulgated. The presidents cautioned him and said, “Know, O King, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree or statue which the King establisheth may be changed.” – v 15. Is it not interesting to learn that it all work together for Daniel’s good? God was glorified in the land of Medes and Persia. In the same vein, God wants to be glorified in your own land. Begin to think, speak and act the way God should. I mean begin to speak out God’s mind concerning every situation that comes your way in life. The mind of God is known through His word – The Bible. Out of the abundance of God’s heart for you, the Bible speaks. Words spoken according to the will of God in faith MUST be accomplished. Joshua spoke the mind of God. He made a decree. He commanded the sun to stand still upon Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon. It was established – see Joshua 10: 12, 13. If you will only speak out in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, your decree shall be established also. Therefore speak out.
CHAPTER EIGHT WITNESSING FOR JESUS This last chapter centers on the best use of the tongue. It is interesting to know that lives can be changed, the kingdom of God can be populated and hell depopulated through witnessing for Jesus. When we speak Jesus into the lives of people they cannot remain the same. When people call upon His name, they are
saved. That is the Scripture – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Romans 10:13. You see we can shape our world with the power of the tongue. Indeed they shall be saved but “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? AND HOW SHALL THEY HEAR WITHOUT A PREACHER?” – v 14 (emphasis added). Is it not surprising to note that even in so many of our mega cities today there are people who have not heard about Jesus; talkless of remote villages where our modern day preachers do not want to go. Yet we are anxiously expecting the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whether we like it or not, the Scripture must be fulfilled- “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” – Matthew 24:14. We are all called unto the great commission the same day we surrendered our lives to the Lord Jesus. He expects us to share our inward conviction with somebody else. You do not need a rigorous, special training to do that. Look at how Brother Wole witnessed Jesus to Mr. Ula. It is so exciting – “Good day my dearly beloved Ula, have you heard of the man whose tomb is empty? This is the question that sparked off some hours of discussion between them. Mr. Ula did not understand the purpose for such a question so he asked, ‘has the tomb been used before?’ This also was an interesting question to Wole who has been waiting for such an opportunity when he will speak Jesus into the life of Mr. Ula. Their discussion could be likened to that of Deacon Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in the book of Acts of the Apostles Chapter 8. Deacon Philip approached the eunuch being led by the Holy Spirit to give answers to the questions of his heart. The journey to the kingdom of God started with a question – “Understandeth thou that thou readest?” – Acts 8:30. The Ethiopian answered with a question – “How can I, except some man should guide me?” – v 31. You see there is an unanswered question about Jesus in the heart of every unbeliever that needs to be answered. You have to look for such opportunities. If you can only get closer to the people you thought do not need Jesus or people who seem not to be interested in the things of God, you will find out that there are lots of questions in their hearts to be answered. Like Deacon Philip in Acts 8:35 where he opened his mouth and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus, Brother Wole began at the question of Mr. Ula and preached unto him Jesus. He said, “Yes the tomb has once been used but today it is so clean and empty because the man who was laid in it rose up again on the third day.” Brother Wole went further to explain to is intent listener everything about the mission of Jesus Christ on earth. After which Mr. Ula became so sorry for his sins and gave his life over to Jesus. Like the Ethiopian eunuch, Mr. Ula said – “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” – Acts 8:37. Do you now see that thee is a better way we can use the tongue? Instead of gossiping your neighbour why not gossip Jesus. Tell somebody today every thing Jesus did to you. Make positive use of your tongue and live a happy fulfilled life.
CONCLUSION Perhaps the first section of this book revealed to you the true colour of your tongue and you sincerely wish to put it off and put on the second section. It is very possible and in fact simple to do. That is why God divinely placed this book in your hands and has today opened your eyes to your need of the moment. Jesus in you settles it all. Do not worry; accept Him just as you are. It is His responsibility to make you whole. If you desire to surrender your life to Him, bow down your head wherever you are right now and pray this prayer out of your personal conviction. Please do not procrastinate. Pray now! Dear heavenly Father, I am sorry for my sins. I ask for forgiveness based on the blood of Jesus, which He shed on the cross of Calvary. Lord Jesus please come into my life and take absolute control of me. Thank you for saving me today. In Jesus’ name I have prayed. Amen! That is all you need. Congratulations! You are a new creature now. I would like to help you grow spiritually. LIST OF OTHER BOOKS BY REV. FESTUS ASO. EKENYERE FACE TO FACE WITH DEATH HUNDRED NAMES OF JESUS UNDERSTANDING THE BOOK OF REVELATION – 1st and 2nd edition SIGNS OF HIS IMMINENT RETURN STANDING FIRM IN LOVE IS JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD? CHRIST OUR PASSOVER LAMB – a study of Bible doctrine GOD OF ALL COMFORT THE SWORD OF THY EXCELLENCY PEACE WITH GOD – a Bible study guide PEACE OF GOD – a Bible study guide RAPTURE AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION
COMING OUT SOON UNDERSTANDING THE BOOK OF DANIEL – a verse-by-verse analysis of the book of Daniel THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE LOVE FOR GOD – a Bible study guide LOVE OF GOD – a Bible study guide
Rev. Festus A. Ekenyere THE FAITH BUILDERS MINISTRIES P. O. Box 1803, Maiduguri Borno State. Nigeria. E-mail:
[email protected] [email protected] go@thefaithbuilder go@thefaithbuildersminstrie sminstries.org s.org GSM: 08022647000, 08038119772, and 08059190878 Visit us at: http://www.thefaithbuildersministries.org www.tfbm.net23.net
